Clemens Kapuuo was a Namibian politician, academic and businessman.
16 Facts About Clemens Kapuuo
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Clemens Kapuuo was the first president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, now called Popular Democratic Movement, and chief of the Herero people of Namibia.
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Clemens Kapuuo was related to Samuel Maherero and was the blood nephew of the first Namibian nationalist leader, Hosea Kutako.
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Clemens Kapuuo was born on 16 March 1923 at Teufelsbach, a farm near Okahandja.
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Clemens Kapuuo attended St Barnabas Anglican Church School in Windhoek's Old Location.
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Clemens Kapuuo was President of the South West Africa Coloured Teachers' Association from 1950 to 1953.
7.
In 1959, Clemens Kapuuo was a founding member of the South West African National Union, Namibia's first nationalist political party, formed as an umbrella body for anti-colonial resistance groups including the Ovamboland People's Organization, SWAPA, the DEC and the Herero Chiefs' Council among others.
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That same year, Clemens Kapuuo led the opposition to the forced relocation of black Namibians from the Old Location to Katutura and witnessed the Old Location Uprising.
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Clemens Kapuuo resigned as a teacher in 1960 when he was appointed deputy chief to Hosea Kutako.
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Clemens Kapuuo objected on the grounds that the Ovambo, who made up the majority of members of SWAPO, had not been dispossessed of their land under German and South African rule as the Hereros had, and were therefore relatively privileged newcomers to the country's independence movement.
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Clemens Kapuuo officially succeeded Hosea Kutako as Chief of the Herero people on 20 July 1970.
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Clemens Kapuuo was voted as DTA's first President and Dirk Mudge its Chairman.
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Clemens Kapuuo was assassinated by two gunmen in the black township of Katutura on 27 March 1978, with both SWAPO and the South African authorities blaming each other.
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Clemens Kapuuo's killing led to violent clashes between Herero and Ovambo communities in Katutura and Okakarara.
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Clemens Kapuuo's assassination derailed the United Nations peace process and provided justification for South Africa's military crackdown on SWAPO.
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Clemens Kapuuo is buried alongside Hosea Kutako in the traditionally Herero town of Okahandja.